Power in The People: Strengths and Hope

Dennis Saleebey

Abstract

The strengths perspective and resilience literature suggest that social workers
may learn from those people who survive and in some cases flourish in the face of
oppression, illness, demoralization, and abuse. Social workers need to know what
steps these natural survivors have taken, what processes they have adopted, and
what resources they have used. In this article, written specifically for Advances in
Social Work, Dennis Saleebey discusses the central tenets of strengths-based practice.